Courses 2014/15 and earlier

Ayesha Ramachandran This course begins with the premise that maps both create narratives and influence the shape and interpretation of literary texts. As historical objects, maps offer narratives about how we imagine and organize ourselves in...

Jessica Brantley This course investigates the relation between manuscript studies and traditional literary criticism. It includes an introduction to working with medieval manuscripts (no prior experience required) and continues with a series of case...

Robert Darnton A graduate seminar on the nature of censorship and the way it actually operated in Stuart England, Bourbon France, the British Raj, Communist East Germany, and regimes vulnerable to the Internet. Note: Guest Speaker Dr. John Palfrey.

Henry Sussman A status report on the book as a medium in an age of cybernetic technology and virtual reality. The contentious no-man's-land between books and contemporary systems.

Lianbin Dai The central question examined in this course is how to establish book history of late imperial China as a modern discipline before integrating or globalizing it into a framework of book history of the world. Topics include: book history as an...

Investigates historically and theoretically the relationship between textuality and technology in recent works as well as in "classics" of the history of technology, cultural theory, and literary criticism. Readings include studies in media history and...

Beverly M. Kienzle Introduction to Latin manuscripts and the historical and cultural context of their production and use. Opportunity to work with actual manuscripts and facsimiles, transcribe previously unedited texts, and discuss problems in textual...

Thomas Forrest Kelly and Beverly M. Kienzle (Divinity School) Medieval scrolls continued to be made far into the era of the codex. They were used for reasons of format or solemnity, and to serve a variety of purposes (archival, legal, musical, and...

Robert Darnton Examines the impact of books on Western culture from the time of Gutenberg. Hands-on experience in studying the book as a physical object and theoretical reflection on the nature of printing as a means of communication. Students will...

Gregory Nagy Genres, forms, and themes of oral traditions in poetry and prose. Theories of performance and composition. Comparative metrical and formulaic analysis. Students are free to select non-Greek traditions as their focus of research, such as...